Members of a Sixth Constitutional Convention committee debated the role and responsibilities of elected officials at a committee hearing held Saturday on St. John. The goal of the Committee on Government Structure was to review and propose revisions for Article 5 in the draft created by their predecessors from the Fifth Convention.
Committee Vice Chair Imani Daniel, Chairman Rupert Ross, and St. John Delegate David Silverman led the five-hour session from the Cleone Creque Legislative Hall in Cruz Bay. Other committee members — Usie Richards, Lilliana Belardo De O’Neal, Devon Carrington, and Ronald Russell — and non-committee delegates joined in by way of live stream video.
The time was used to review the language contained in 16 sections covering the role and function of the V.I. Legislature. A few of those engaged in the discussion were once V.I. lawmakers, including the committee chair and two former Senate presidents — Richards and Russell.
Vigorous debate began from the outset, with members sharing opinions on an informal poll proposed by the vice chair. The poll was made up of several questions to include: how many seats in the Legislature; whether to keep, eliminate, or increase the number of at-large seats; if lawmakers should serve in sub-districts; the length of lawmakers’ terms; constraints on party affiliations, and whether there should be term limits.
“I don’t think this committee is going to come to a consensus. I think this is going to go to plenary,” Daniel said. The next general — or plenary — session of the convention is expected to take place in July.
Russell and others urged the body to open the debate to the public. “I think we need to go into full discussion with the public,” he said.
Responses to the poll varied; on some questions, they varied widely. Ross asked delegates at the Saturday session to keep open minds. He reminded his colleagues that the goal of the sixth convention was to forge a governing document that was both flexible and acceptable enough to the public that they would vote in favor of adoption.
“If we don’t get the vote, you don’t get the document you want,” Ross said.
When the government structure committee reconvenes, they are expected to review the section covering the executive branch. The public is invited and encouraged to attend in person or virtually in order to gain a working knowledge of the document that may one day be the V.I. law of the land.
